The former Extended Stay hotel recently purchased by King County may soon be used to house Afghan refugees in Federal Way, according to the city and county.

“King County is committed to doing everything we can to partner with our community to assist the Afghan refugees, including utilizing any property we have that could be repurposed while we line up the housing providers for our Health Through Housing initiative,” said Chase Gallagher, communications director for the King County Executive Office.

The tentative move-in date is Tuesday, Sept. 14, according to an email from Brendan McCluskey, director of King County Emergency Management to Federal Way city officials. Each person or family is expected to stay in Federal Way between three to five weeks.

King County plans to stop placing people in the hotel in November to prepare for a January launch of the Health Through Housing program in Federal Way, the email said. Though the number of guests has not been announced, the hotel has 101 available rooms.

Mayor Jim Ferrell said he fully supports the use of the former Extended Stay site to house refugees.

“As a nation of immigrants and a community that supports people’s desire to live free, I absolutely support that,” Ferrell said. “The City of Federal Way will welcome them with open arms.”

The mayor has requested additional details from the county that will be shared in the coming days. Both the county and city will be canvassing neighborhoods to the west, north and northwest of the hotel. There has already been outreach to area businesses, county officials said.

“America stands for something special and it stands for welcoming people who seek freedom,” Ferrell added.